Hi everyone,
First of all, I would like to say that this forum is really cool. I've enjoyed looking at everyone's carvings. There is some great stuff out there, you've got me totally inspired.

So, I picked up a freshly cut piece of eucalyptus and stated carving it and had a great time even though I've already got my first tiki bite. The stupid box cutter blade snapped... and yes, blood was everywhere... you've been there I'm sure.
So here it is, my first carving, I'm not done yet, it's just a start.

It's 6" tall

Still got some work to do to make that ukulele work out.

Anyway, I have tons of questions and I was wondering if you pros out there would have time to answer them to help beginners like myself that don't know anything about the right tools to use as well as the right wood to pick.
To answer faster you may want to copy and paste the questions in your answer.

The Wood: What is the best wood to use?
 What is the easiest wood to carve?
 What is the worst wood to use?
 How long should the wood dry?
 What is your personal favorite kind of wood?

The Tools: What are the essentials tools needed for small carvings?
 What are the essentials tools needed for large carvings?
 Is there any other stuff I need?
 Where can I find some decent tools at reasonable prices?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer any of these questions.

The Wood:
 What is the best wood to use? Palm
 What is the easiest wood to carve? Palm
 What is the worst wood to use? Eucaliptus
 How long should the wood dry? don't wait, cracks are good!
 What is your personal favorite kind of wood? Palm

TikiTony really answered it all easily and quickly.You are asking us what it took us Years to learn and it will still take you that long to learn it on your own. These answers will help but you will still have to go thru the learning process.
Your first carving looks very good The wood you have chosen will bite you either by being too hard to carve or ,if it is soft, by drying out and splitting down the middle into several pieces. Nasty Wood .Pay heed to TikiTony.Keep up the good work, get some palm and let the chips fly and Most importand Keep the pictures coming.
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I just had a nice palm trunk disintegrate before my eyes as I ripped a chainsaw through it! Darn wood rot! Toss it aside.....NEXT! I have a friend who is going to give me about 6 four foot queen palm trunks.......drool! Can't wait!

Eucalyptus is not the best as i have found out personaly, but that was all i could find and makes for good practice. One of my neighbors who works for the gas & electric Co. just got me some untreated Telephone poles (Cedar) looking forward to trying them out.

Home Depot....set of 6 Stanley chisels and a Mallet maybe 40 bucks. Should help with the razorblade cuts.

Yep untreated. Just went and got one with him. 6 foot tall and 20 inches thick. He says they come in every once and a while and they can not use them, for obvious reasons, he was also telling me they don't use Creasode(sp) anymore, can't remember the name of the new stuff but supossedly it kills bugs and rats but not humans? (not buying that theory)

Thank you all for the encouragement, and yes it's been carved with an exacto, a small one.

Thanks Tikitony for your advice, I'll definitely look for some palm, I also went to the http://www.harborfreight.com website and did a little shopping. Ill soon be all geared up, great place, and the prices are right.
So, you do all your carving with a chainsaw and an angle grinder impressive, I like your stuff a lot, especially the tall ones.

Suburbanpagan and Benzart, I find a piece of palm today, and same thing, it was more like a piece of rubber than a piece of wood, It didnt look rotten, just super soft. Does it get more like wood when it dries?

Tikimecula, Im really interested to know how the telephone pole worked out.

The only thing I would add is a good quality dust mask (when grinding palm that dust smells nasty - I can only imagine what it's doing to my lungs) and some eye protection. When Ben says "let the chips fly" he ain't kidding.

As far as cheap tools...well I wish I had ventured into harbour freight before I bought some of my tools...but anyway...for chisels and other hand tools you can try swap meets and yard sales, then all you need to do is sharpen them.

Exacto knife?...Damn that's pretty good. Probably took a while too. Keep us updated with the progress!

I have played around with a few pieces with a dremel and flex shaft (just to get a feel for the medium) and I am having an issue with the shaft heating-up. I thought it might be a lubrication issue, but that didn't help, and it is not just a speed question.

dremel and flex shaft (just to get a feel for the medium) and I am having an issue with the shaft heating-up

I've actually given up on the flex shaft. I tend to kink the cord when I use it. So I just stick with the regular dremel. As far as heat goes...gloves sound good.
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Heat in the Flexshaft can be caused by OVER Lubrication (like when I get over lubricated, I get Heat from the wahine..).
Remove the sheath and the shaft. Wipe it all down to get the goo out and off. Apply a Thin Film only of grease and that should be all you need.
My old Fordham motor heats up which is probably inner bearings. Anybody got a good used one for sale or trade?
TahiTiki, Don't give up on the Palms. There are only Hundreds of varieties and Many are not carvable. Some are Great for carving.
Look for Washingtonion, Coconut. Bottle, Sable or Cabbage Palms to name a few. The giant Royals are mush inside as are others.
Good luck